Kathryn's Inbox

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Weather Girl is a chick-lit (or romance) novel that explores some deep themes in an intelligent well thought out way. Ari Abrams has always been fascinated by the weather--so much so that now she has grown up, she has a successful career as a TV meteorologist. Unfortunately, off television, her life isn't as sunny as she tries to make out. She was recently dumped by her boyfriend, her job is plagued by problems by her feuding and very much divorced bosses and well, she has an illness that cannot be seen that she doesn't like to talk about. And a family history of mental illness but she doesn't like to talk about that, either. As I said, this novel explores some deep themes, weaving them intelligently around the novel's main plot, where Ari and her colleague Russell scheme to rekindle the relationship of their feuding bosses in the hope of creating a happier workplace. Both Ari and Russell (who might just be falling in love,) their deeply personal stories and reasons fo...

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Is Australia, the land of laid back culture actually well, a little bit (or a lot) prudish? That is the question at the heart of Paul Dalgarno's latest work Prudish Nation. Dalgarno seeks to answer the question by interviewing thirty Australian authors, writers and thinkers many of whom are in relationships that would be considered 'unconventional' by contemporary Australian standards. The author also draws on his own experiences of being in an openly non-monogamous relationship and authoring a novel about a similar but-not-really-all-that-similar non-monogamous relationship. Prudish Nation makes for interesting reading. Each person interviewed has different experiences and different perspectives that they are able to add to the narrative. Rather than the voices cancelling one another out, Dalgarno deftly uses it to show that everyone is an individual, their experiences unique and their perspectives valid. And obviously it questions whether in such a diverse world if ackno...

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Adelaide author Michelle Prak's debut is a tense outback thriller, set in the midst of a flood. The first drops of rain have just started to fall when Quinn--on her way to shelter at the pub where she works--discovers a body. Meanwhile at the pub, owner Andrea is waiting with her three-year-old son for her husband to return, when a bikie who was giving her trouble earlier in the day bangs on the door and begs to be sheltered from the storm. Cut between these stories is one that unfolds a day earlier of a group of four backpackers on a journey from Adelaide to Darwin. They are not long into the journey when it becomes clear that something isn't quite right in the group. But who is it Hayley and Livia should fear most? Hayley's controlling boyfriend Scott, or arrogant Joost? Or should they fear both. The Rush is an interesting outback tale in an unusual setting, with the characters isolated by storms and an impeding flood, rather than the typical hot outback terrain. As the ...

Maybe in Another Life offers readers an intriguing premise. Twenty-nine year old Hannah has just returned to her hometown of Los Angeles after living in many different cities. On her first night home, she hits the bar with some friends. And at the end of the night, she finds herself having to make a choice--should she go home with her old high school boyfriend Ethan or should she go home with her best friend Gabby. From there, two different timelines play out--one in which Hannah goes home with Ethan and one in which she goes home with Gabby. Same person, two very different lives and outcomes. I was attracted to this one for three reasons--the premise which reminded me of Sliding Doors, the fact that I read another Taylor Jenkins Reid novel recently and I loved it and the fact that the blurb hinted that Hannah was happy in both of her lives and I was looking for something intelligent yet light and cheerful to read. Turns out the blurb tricked me. The book isn't that happy--it see...

There is something delightful about Myf Warhurst and when I saw her happy, smiling face on the front of a book titled Time of My Life I just knew that I had to buy it. This turned out to be an excellent choice as the book is Warhurst's memoir, in which she ties in many of her favourite songs with the different stages of her life--from being a Countdown obsessed four year old living in rural Victoria, to hosting The Net 50 on Triple J in the early 2000s, to her work on the beloved Aussie TV show  Spicks and Specks , to being the Australian host of Eurovision . And the whole lot is a fantastic read.  There is no doubt in my mind that Myf Warhurst truly loves music. I love her argument that you should be allowed to like what music you like without caring what anyone else thinks--one that more people should take into consideration. And although this memoir is linked to music at every turn, some of the best moments come when she is describing her childhood in rural Victoria, of ha...

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Here For the Right Reasons offers readers an interesting premise--Cece James has just successfully auditioned and gained a spot on a reality television show, one that is not unlike The Bachelor. Except that she most definitely isn't on the show to find love. And then she gets booted out after the first episode. That would be the end of things except the set has to go into lockdown due to Covid-19 and she cannot leave. And she keeps finding herself getting up close and personal with the leading man. Then it turns out that Dylan Jayasinghe Mellor isn't on the show for the right reasons either.  A friendship soon ensures with each of them trying to turn the situation to their advantage--Cece needs the money that comes with being on the show, and Dylan wants to raise awareness for men's mental health. Together they find a way to get screen time so that Cece can continue to be paid and so that Dylan can talk about the things he finds important. But what happens when Cece--posin...

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